Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 328 327 Ketchup

Lemon is a fruit that few people care about nowadays.

Many people think it is an imported product. In fact, lemons originate in southern China and Southeast Asia and are derived from a cross between citron and lime.

The reason why lemons spread in the West is inseparable from the great voyages.

In the age of navigation hundreds of years ago, sailors might go to sea for a year or a lifetime.

Since there is no source of vitamin C at sea, sailors may survive strong winds and waves, but they may not survive scurvy.

By coincidence, someone discovered that eating lemons can effectively reduce the occurrence of scurvy, so lemons came to sailors' tables.

China also had a great voyage, but lemons have never been on the purchase list. The reason is because the Chinese have soybeans.

Soybeans can not only sprout bean sprouts, but also grind soy milk, tofu, etc., effectively solving the problem of vitamin C shortage.

Lemons are not accepted by Chinese people due to taste problems. Although they are produced domestically, their sales have not been wide.

"I really won't go, let's do it next time. I have to process it quickly while I have some free time today." Tang Zhitong hung the cloth bag on the handlebar, patted it, and looked like he was about to leave.

"emm...oranges." The child was not strict with his words, and the child next door showed off for several days after eating a dried longan. Lemons are a rare thing, so Tang Zhitong was afraid that Fengzhi would yell around, so he simply lied.

Tang Zhitong sent the two younger sisters who were watching to go out to get salt and maza.

"Brother, what is this?" Fengzhi put the lemon to her nose and smelled it, then held it up and asked Tang Zhitong.

Fortunately, there are many people at home, and the two sisters Fengzhen and Fengzhi are also at home.

There are no tricks for making tomato sauce. One is to stir continuously, and the other is to watch the heat and don't burn the pot.

The family had a simple lunch and then got busy.

"There are a lot of things. What kind of vegetables are you planning to pickle?" Zhang Guifang walked out to help the child get the things.

There were so many people and so many eyes, Tang Zhitong entered the gate and took out the bottles and some lemons he had collected today from the space.

Tomato sauce is not difficult to make, but the process is time-consuming.

"No pickling or drying, let's make some ketchup today." Tang Zhitong said, holding the bottle and placing it on the ground with a clanking sound.

"Making persimmon jam? Have you made so many?" Zhang Guifang looked at the tomatoes in front of her and was a little surprised. There were so many!

With more people and greater strength, it took more than two hours before the tomatoes were peeled, stemmed, chopped and put into the pot.

Taking advantage of their absence, Tang Zhitong took out two kilograms of rock sugar from the space, threw it into the pot, and started stirring.

"Brother, I want to eat oranges!" When Fengzhi heard that the thing in his hand was an orange, his saliva couldn't stop secreting out, and his swallowing movements were obvious.

After waiting for a while, Mark Jian came out carrying a cloth bag.

"What a coincidence, there aren't many foreign guests these days, and there are quite a few left. It just took a little longer. Is that okay?" Ma Jian handed the cloth bag to Tang Zhitong, opened it, and asked.

"Okay, make some time next time." Mark Jian nodded and waved to Tang Zhitong.

Every unit has its own rules, especially for external parties. Keeping the ingredients fresh is also a top priority.

Tomatoes must be washed, run through boiling water, and then peel off the skins one by one. Keeping the skins on will affect the taste of the sauce.

Tang Zhitong did not follow Mark Jian in, but smoked and waited at the back door.

Tomato sauce is the more official name now, but people occasionally make it among the people, and the names are also various, such as persimmon sauce, tomato sauce, etc.

The bottles must also be cleaned inside and out one by one.

A big pot full, it looks really festive.

It is better abroad. It is not only used for mixing wine and soaking water, but also for setting dishes and cooking. It is said that squeezing a few drops of lemon juice when frying steak can effectively relieve the greasiness.

"Okay, I'll do it next time!" Tang Zhitong waved his hand, stepped on his bicycle, and headed into the city to go home.

"Sure, then I won't go out with Third Brother anymore. I'll give you two bottles to try when they're ready." Tang Zhitong took the bag, but didn't insist on paying.

The petals are sealed like beeswax in clear cans and placed high on the shelves for children to enjoy.

"Oh." Fengzhi reluctantly put the lemon in the basin, turned back three times, and went outside to look at the stove.

"No problem, this thing is durable! Thank you, third brother. How much did it cost? I'll give it to you." Tang Zhitong took out one and pinched it. It was quite fresh.

"This doesn't taste good. Go check the stove." The feeling of stuffing lemon in his mouth will last a lifetime. Tang Zhitong had a headache and didn't want to leave a shadow of his childhood on his sister.

Zhang Guifang cleaned bottles, Fengzhen washed tomatoes, and Fengzhi was curious about lemons.

Also taken out were tomatoes. These tomatoes were “selected” by me when I helped the supply and marketing cooperative “purchase” them at the construction site last year.

"Oh, then I'll help wash the persimmons." After hearing what her son said, Zhang Guifang didn't ask again.

"Okay. You really don't want to go home with me and have some food?" Mark Jian asked unwillingly.

As a large-scale external hospitality unit, many rare and strange ingredients on the market are usually available here.

"I found someone to beg for bottles and cans. I didn't ask for any money for the persimmons. They all wanted some sauce. Besides, they also got points when they were done. There wasn't much left in the end." Tang Zhitong said as he took out the bottles.

"No money. This little thing is too sour, no one wants it at all. When I said I wanted a few, they put a bag for me." After hearing what Tang Zhitong said, Mark Jian directly stuffed the bag into Tang Zhitong's arms. .

I stirred it for a few hours, adding a little salt during this time.

Tang Zhitong could only pretend not to see this.

Although oranges are not common in Sijiucheng, they are not very rare. Apart from the peeled ones, most of them are canned oranges from supply and marketing cooperatives.

Seeing that the sauce was almost ready, Tang Zhitong asked Zhang Guifang to cut all the lemons in half and let Fengzhen take them out.

Tang Zhitong picked up the lemon in the basin, placed it on top of the pot, squeezed hard, and bits and pieces of lemon juice fell into the pot.

Tang Zhitong squeezed and stirred at the same time, and his movements were so smooth that he didn't even notice Fengzhi steal a piece of lemon from the basin...

After Tang Zhitong stirred evenly and took the pot off the stove, Fengzhi's cry came from the main room.

Just as Tang Zhitong was about to go in and take a look, Fengzhi walked out, crying and spitting, holding half a lemon in his hand. Well, his childhood was complete.

"What's wrong??" Zhang Guifang heard the movement and walked over and asked. "Sour!" Fengzhi handed half of the lemon in her hand to Zhang Guifang.

Seeing that Fengzhi was already being comforted by Zhang Guifang, Tang Zhitong held back a smile and brought the pot into the main room, ready to start filling.

"You kid, how sour can an orange be? Are you going to cry?" Zhang Guifang took the lemon and wiped her daughter's tears first, then looked at the half piece of lemon in her hand, which had a row of teeth marks on it. Fengzhi didn't even think about it. Didn't chew it down.

"It's so sour!" Fengzhi saw that her mother didn't believe her, so in order to prove that what she said was true, she grabbed her mother's hand and put half a piece of lemon into her mouth. The meaning was obvious, if you don't believe me, try it!

Zhang Guifang obviously doesn't believe in this evil. She has tasted canned oranges. They are a bit sour, but they are far worse than hawthorns!
"Eucalyptus, why are the oranges you brought back different from the ones in the can?" Zhang Guifang was also afraid of waste, so she asked her son before taking a bite, and then took a bite under the filial piety of her daughter...

"Ouch! My tooth fell!" Before her son could answer, Zhang Guifang immediately opened her mouth and spit out the lemon, bringing her eyes and nose together.

Seeing Zhang Guifang's appearance, Fengzhi suddenly felt that her mouth was no longer sour, with tears on her face, she giggled.

"You don't believe me when I say it's not delicious?" Tang Zhitong quickly gave Zhang Guifang a glass of cold water. He had to hold back his laughter even if he wanted to. If he couldn't hold it in, he would probably get beaten.

"Who would have thought that oranges could be so sour?" Zhang Guifang gargled her mouth and looked at the "oranges" she and Fengzhi each took a bite of. In the end, they were thrown into the chicken pen in a parabola.

The chickens thought they were being fed delicious food, so they rushed to take a few bites, and then there was a panicked "cluck".

At the same time, Zhang Guifang scooped up Fengzhi, who was smiling cheerfully, and rewarded her with two Wuzhishan darlings from her mother.

The whole family was in a state of panic, and now Tang Zhitong was even more afraid to admit that this thing that even dogs wouldn't eat was not an orange...

Letting his mother educate Fengzhi on motherly love, Tang Zhitong pulled Fengzhen to fill the ketchup.

Due to storage conditions, everything will be fine once the tomato sauce is boiled. After filling, it needs to be heated in a pot again.

Due to secondary heating, the tomato paste in the bottle may boil due to heat, so do not fill it too full.

The specific operations may be slightly different from house to house, but the purpose is the same. The secondary heating is for disinfection and to try to prevent air from outside the pot from entering.

After filling, Tang Zhitong put the corks and saline bottles into the pot, squatted on the stove, and started steaming!
The task of lighting the fire was handed over to Fengzhen, while Tang Zhitong went to deal with the used lemons.

In a hurry, the lemon juice Tang Zhitong squeezed with one hand was not clean, and there was still residue in it. It was a pity to throw it away. After all, this thing is rich in vitamin C, which is very rare.

"What are you still doing? You won't even eat the chicken." After eating the sourness of lemons, Zhang Guifang disliked these oranges.

"I'll try another way. You can try it later. It's definitely not sour." Tang Zhitong lied and felt guilty, but he vowed to make up for it.

Zhang Guifang no longer cared about what her son was doing, but Fengzhi, who didn't care about eating or beating, gathered around Tang Zhitong curiously, watching how her brother operated.

Power works wonders. Tang Zhitong's operation was without any tricks. He was just trying his best to squeeze the remaining lemon juice into the basin.

"Go, help me get the honey jar." Tang Zhitong opened Fengzhi, put some mountain spring water in the basin, and scooped some wild honey from the space.

After Fengzhi brought the honey jar over, Tang Zhitong symbolically dug in a little more and stirred it in the basin with a honey scoop.

Fengzhi smelled the honey and had forgotten the sourness of the oranges. She followed the spoon back and forth with her eyes, wishing she could grab the spoon and take a bite.

"Go, get a bowl and give you some to taste." Tang Zhitong saw that all the honey had melted, so he stopped and asked the little glutton next to him.

"Ouch!" After Fengzhi heard this, she immediately went to serve the bowl happily, as if she was not the one who had been beaten and cried just now.

Lemon honey water is delicious, sour and sweet.

Fengzhi finished half of it in one go, then carefully carried the bowl to honor Zhang Guifang.

"Mom! The orange water made by my brother is delicious!" Fengzhi put the bowl to Zhang Guifang's mouth with a look of anticipation.

"Okay, let me try it." Zhang Guifang learned a lesson, took the bowl with hesitation, and tasted a little. The feedback on the tip of her tongue clearly told her that the child was not lying.

After Tang Zhitong finished mixing the lemon and honey water, he filled a bowl for Fengzhen and served it to her while he took care of the pot for her.

After the bottled tomato sauce is reheated, the cork needs to be inserted while it is still hot.

Firstly, it can prevent bacteria in the cold air outside from entering the bottle. Secondly, it also uses the principle of thermal expansion and contraction. After the bottle is cooled, the cork can be sucked more firmly.

As a half-assed cook, Tang Zhitong's ruthless iron hand has not yet been fully developed.

Tang Zhitong took a trick this time and found a pair of long chopsticks, which were used to cook pork heads at home. He soaked them in boiling water, then used the chopsticks to hold the stoppers, and covered them one by one at the mouth of the bottle.

Next, drop the chopsticks, hold the cork with the thick end, and push the cork in...

While completing this work, Tang Zhitong was thinking about the problem of the screw mouth of the bottle cap.

The screw-top bottle cap is definitely a great invention, which is very convenient for the people.

Tang Zhitong originally had the idea of ​​​​connecting with the glass factory to improve, but things didn't work out.

After all, Tang Zhitong had taken up a leadership position, witnessed some things, and broadened his horizons. He knew that without a suitable opportunity, even if he had no plans, he might not be able to push forward the screw-top bottle issue.

The current glass factories are only worried about the lack of raw materials and low production capacity, but not about sales at all. So what reason does the glass factory have to improve?

Some people may say that it is for the convenience of the people!
But there are many problems involved, such as mold problems and supporting problems.

Will the glass factory need to reopen molds? Will the bottle cap factory need to reopen molds? So who will bear this part of the cost?

Even if this part of the cost can be solved, then the glass factory, bottle cap factory, winery, and cannery all need to support production, right?

This process will be discontinued. Will anyone object during the supporting process? Does the production line need to be readjusted? Will other problems follow?

No one can guarantee that.

Basically no one does things like this where the input is obviously greater than the output and is not worthwhile.

It is very difficult to grasp the human heart. Only by doing the right thing at the right time can you achieve the greatest success, such as when the glass factory is at the end of its rope.

It was still a long time before the glass factory was at the end of its rope, but Tang Zhitong was almost forced to the end by a word from classmate Xiao Wang who returned home.

"Is this lemon honey water?" After Xiao Wang came back from Du Yanqing's place, Fengzhi immediately filled a bowl for her sister-in-law and brought it over.

"What is a lemon? Is it as sour as an orange?" Tang Zhitong said while giving classmate Xiao Wang a look.

"A fruit that no one wants is more sour than this one." Classmate Xiao Wang rolled his eyes at his husband and lied tacitly.

(End of this chapter)